The Rise of Skywalker, Epilogue
by someonesbeenhere
Summary: Die hard Reylo fan here, attempting to fix the ending of Rise of Skywalker so it doesn't break my heart so much! Hope you enjoy this short one shot!


The screaming woke her up again. This had been going on for months now and Rey was beginning to forget what peaceful sleep was. What she couldn't forget, long after she had woken up was the pained screams of her name. His screams.

She couldn't deny that since she'd lost Ben on Exegol, Rey felt emptier. Like her heart was missing a piece, a piece that no one else could fill. The thing that she would never, ever admit to anyone though was that in her tormented scream filled dreams, she felt whole again. She couldn't explain it. Was Ben still out there somewhere? Surely not, how else could she explain the intense loneliness she felt day by day. But if it were true, that she could still hear him, where was he? And why was he in so much pain?

Every night, she hid away from the screams, scared of what she'd find if she followed them. But if they were really Ben, she owed it to him to find out. She needed to sleep, really sleep. A sleep where the screams wouldn't wake her. She knew that Poe had just the concoction.

It was easy enough to sneak it from him, he and Finn were too busy marching around barking orders. Leia's promotion felt like her one last practical joke but it kept them occupied. Rey didn't know how long she'd need to be asleep but she knew that the suspicious liquid wouldn't kill her, she'd seen Poe throw it back enough times to know that. She took a long, hard swig and quickly felt her muscles slacken as the drink burned down her throat.

She was back there, in the empty greyness of her nightmares, Ben's screams mysteriously absent this time.

"Ben?" She said quietly. No answer. "Ben?" Louder this time, the name echoed back to her.

"What now?" She heard faintly.

"Ben." She sprinted forward, heading straight for where the voice came from. Running through empty greyness until faintly, Rey saw a solid black figure, sitting down, contrasting against the empty surroundings. "Ben!" Rey screamed.

"Yes, yes. I'm a monster, I'm a murderous snake. Have you got anything new or are we just replaying the greatest hits?" Rey slowed and stopped short, cautiously holding back when Ben didn't even turn to face her. He sat slumped on the ground, one knee pulled up to his chest, his head resting it.

"You're not a monster, Ben. You saved me." Slowly, Ben lifted his head and looked at her. He looked terrible. Messed hair, dark circles under his eyes, his skin greyish. He studied her, looking her up and down.

"You look different." He mused, his eyebrows knotted in the middle in confusion. Rey looked herself over, she didn't look overly different. At this, Ben jumped to his feet with more energy than Rey thought he had in him. He rushed to her and roughly grabbed her wrist. His eyes widened at the touch. "Rey?" Rey smiled and nodded and as quick as a flash and not unwelcome, Ben embraced her so tightly she thought she might break. "It's really you." He whispered. After a moment Rey realised that she was squeezing him back just as tight.

"Of course it's me. Have you been here all this time?" She asked him, letting him go but he still kept a hold of her hand, making sure she was still there.

"I don't know where this is. I don't know how long I've been here. How long have I been gone?"

"Months Ben."

"Feels longer."

"Did you really think she would come for you Ben?" A familiar voice came from behind Ben. Ben stiffened and slowly turned, allowing Rey to see where the voice was coming from. It was her. Well it certainly looked like her but the voice was a little darker. "Good to see that you're still so easy to torment, hoping desperately that your love will save you. So pathetic." Ben said nothing, his hand just grasped Rey's tighter. She wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm coming for you Ben." Rey told him. "I promise." Rey tried to pull her hand from him but he held her tight. "Ben." He turned and looked at her, his eyes confused and scared. He was starting to doubt she was even there. She pulled her had away and grabbed either side of his face, forcing him to look right at her. "I promise you, I'm me, I'm here and I'm coming to get you out of this place."

"Hurry." He whispered. Rey nodded and left that place. It broke her heart to leave him but the quicker she left, the quicker she could get him back. Ben was alive, barely and trapped but he was alive. And luckily for Ben, Rey knew exactly where he was, there was only one place she knew that could torment you with your darkest moments.

Rey left for Ach-to without saying a word to anyone. If she had seen someone maybe she would have told them but she didn't and she wasn't going to waste time looking for someone. Plus, they'd be able to track the ship she took and going to Ach-to wouldn't cause them any concern. She however was concerned, she had no idea what she had to do to get Ben back from where he was but she was sure that it wasn't going to be easy.

Rey wasted no time and went straight to the mirror cave. It was empty but the grey emptiness that she'd recognised around Ben was here. This was the place, now to get to Ben.

"You're a fool to have come here." The modulated voice still sent chills down her spine, it had done since that first day in the forest. Rey turned to face him.

"You're not Ben." She said.

"You're right, Ben Solo is dead, he has been for a long time." Kylo told her.

"No. Ben was there on Exegol, he saved me." Rey argued.

"And look where that got him." He shot back. "You called him a monster, a murderer."

"No, I called _you_ that." Rey hissed.

"When will you understand Rey? You talk about Ben Solo and Kylo Ren as if they are two different people when the truth is, it wasn't just Kylo Ren you killed, you killed Ben Solo too."

"No, I-" Rey stammered. Kylo reached up and took of his mask, his features underneath soft and caring.

"Kylo Ren loved you too Rey and you made him weak and killed him."

"That's not true." Rey whispered, hardly believing her own words.

"It is Rey." She said softly, approaching her, his eyes, Ben's eyes glistening ever so slightly. "And all this, you're doing for the monster, the man who killed thousands of innocents, his own father, he almost killed your friends too."

"Ben Solo isn't a monster!" Rey screamed, hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh, but I am." He lunged at her, his spitting red saber swinging for the kill. Rey quickly ducked. He pulled her lightsaber from her hip and ignited the brilliant yellow blade. He circled her slowly, swinging his weapon at her suddenly every so often. She hadn't attacked back yet. She didn't know if she could even fight this thing, whatever it was. But she remembered Ben, how he reached out to grab her, how amazed he was when he could.

These things, they were corporeal. They couldn't touch them. Rey waited for the next strike to come. Just before it did, she dropped her saber to the ground. As the non existant blade swept through her, she looked at the mysterious figure, his furious eyes becoming shocked and pained when he heard the final words she whispered to him.

"I'm sorry, Kylo."

She thumped hard to the rocks beneath her, grasping desperately at her torso to make sure she was all still there. Her sigh of relief was interrupted by the softest word.

"Rey?" Her head snapped up to see Ben, hopelessly sitting hunched, knuckles covered in blood, panting quietly.

"Ben!" Rey yelled and rushed towards him.

"Rey, wait!" As he shouted back, Rey slammed hard into the mirror wall of the cave, the wall that Ben was helplessly trapped inside. Rey's hands scrambled the surface, as if she was going to find a small gap through.

"No, no no, no no, no!" Rey thumped, and punched, and slammed against the wall. Reaching for her saber when she began to draw blood from her weak body. She slashed and stabbed and kicked and it all did nothing.

"Rey, stop!" Ben screamed, finally breaking through to her. She stopped, breathing harshly, gasping for breath. Ben showed her his hands, stained with blood. "I've been trying for months Rey." Rey rested her head against the wall, Ben resting his against hers. "I don't know what else I can do. I'm just not strong enough."

Thoughts tumbled through Rey's mind, Ben wasn't strong enough. But Kylo would have been.

"Kylo Ren loved me too." Rey whispered, her thoughts mounting to an idea.

"What?" Ben looked at her, eyes widened.

"I know what to do." Rey said. "Ben Solo and Kylo Ren are one and the same. If Ben's not strong enough, Kylo would be. Just like me. I'm not just a Jedi am I? I'm also a Palatine." Ben begn to shake his head, knowing where Rey was going.

"Don't do this Rey! You may never come back!" He yelled, his voice echoing around them. Rey took several steps back and held her hand out to the wall.

"I have to, Ben." Rey let loose every ounce of dark power she had. She thought of every moment where the Dark had threatened to turn her. Her anger at Plutt, her anger at Luke. The times where she almost killed Kylo Ren. The one time she did manage it. And the guilt of all these months knowing that she turned Kylo Ren to the Light only for him to die for her. Blue lightning flew from her fingertips, hitting the wall. The shattering glass was like music to her ears but she barely had time to rejoice before her yellow eyes closed and she collapsed onto the stone.

"Rey!"

Eyelashes fluttering open, she felt warm arms wrap around her. He was there, he was holding her and after so many months, her heart felt whole again.

Ach-to wasn't a bad place to live. In fact, it was more like heaven. Everything Rey had ever dreamed of growing up it was quiet enough that she could live out her days in peace. Well, as peaceful as it could get with an excitable, black haired, baby Jedi waddling around. She was strong in the Force already, both Rey and Ben could feel it. They couldn't wait for the Solo-Skywalker Jedi to be the strongest in history.


End file.
